A Narrow Bridge of Ice
by jaqueline-littlebird
Summary: AU: When Thor&company went to Jotunheim, the monster which Laufey set free upon them recognized Loki as belonging to the Jotunheim royal family.


A/N: Written for a prompt on Norsekink LJ which basically asked that the monster Laufey set free on Jotunheim recognizes Loki as belonging to his master's family.

Disclaimer: Marvel characters are Marvel's. Text shamelessly lifted from Lord of the Rings is still Tolkien's. No money made.

Music: The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm (LotR soundtrack)

**A Narrow Bridge of Ice**

Ice needles rose from the ground, piercing Fandral through the chest. Loki threw one of his knives, killing the giant responsible, while Volstagg and Hogun pulled the swordsman free.

„Thor!" Sif yelled.

„We. Must. Go!" Loki reinforced her plea, stressing each word.

The thundergod in his battle-rage did not even spare them a look. „Then go!" He cast his hammer at another Jotun.

That was when Laufey-King released the monster from its frozen cage. The Aesir had heard of it: a giant beast, red eyes, all teeth, facial horns and icy breath, talons like a harpy, and spikes at its tailtip.

The Icewyrm was a creature from the world of old, directly born of Yggdrasil, invincible by normal force, like Odin's Sleipnir or the dragon Nidhögg. Protector of the frozen realm and its royal family – heirs of Ymir that they were – the wyrm had not travelled to Midgard with the Jotun army. Otherwise, the Ice War may not have been won so quickly. Or at least Odin had said so in his private lessons for his sons and highest ranking nobles' children.

The mere sight of the wyrm now filled their hearts with terror, and when it roared, Volstagg cursed the weight of Fandral on his shoulders while he ran. „Run!" he yelled, desperate. Sif and Hogun took turns bringing up the rear, distracting the beast from Volstagg who could neither look back nor zig-zag with his load.

Loki called out to Thor once more, again to no avail. Thor was having his fun brawling, while the company ran for their lives. Of course, the oaf could fly, so he out of all of them was probably safe from the creature.

Loki dared not teleport in an unknown place, and with that strange curse upon him since one Frost Giant had gripped his arm. They had a chance of reaching the Bifröst site. Probably. They had to.

A crevasse blocked their way, but that could be to their advantage, if the monster could not cross it either.

„Right now, over the bridge!" Loki yelled. A narrow bridge of ice crossed the abyss. The Aesir, used to such constructions without handrails from their lightbridges at home, hurried across, the monster on their heels.

Asgard's second prince stopped on the other side. He needed to vanish this bridge before the monster crossed it, then they would be safe for some time. Vanishing things into private pockets of space was basic magic; even Thor could do that with his armour. Doing the same with items not personally bound was more difficult, doubly so when they were fast attached to something. Besides, Loki had never tried for anything this large. It had to work, somehow.

The ice-monster reached the bridge. The chaos god gathered his magic.

A streak of red flew through the sky, then Thor landed in the middle of the span. In his hand Mjölnir gleamed, sizzling with lightning power. The icewyrm halted, facing him, and the cold about it froze the moisture out of the air in tiny, sharp ice crystals. It rose on its hind legs, roaring, and the spikes on its tailtip cracked the ice behind. Icy breath came from its nostrils. But Thor stood firm.

„You cannot pass," he said. Behind the wyrm on the other side, the Jotun warriors arrived. The Giants stood still, and a dead silence fell. „I am Thor Odinsson of Asgard, wielder of the mighty Mjölnir. You cannot pass. Your ice breath will not avail you, fell wyrm of Utgard. Go back to the shadows! You cannot pass."

The Icewyrm made no answer. The fight in it seemed to die, but the temperature dropped. It stepped forward slowly onto the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and a gust of wind blew snow around it; but still Thor could be seen, red cape in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: bent and tiny, like an arctic poppy blossom before the onset of a storm.

From out of the snowy haze the creature's tail flung out.

Mjölnir zapped with electricity in answer.

There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The monster fell back. From behind, Loki hissed: „Destroy the bridge, Thor, shatter the bridge! Let's flee to the Bifröst site!" The Thunderer swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

„You cannot pass!" he said.

With a bound the Icewyrm leaped full upon the bridge. Its tail whirled and hissed.

„He cannot stand alone!" cried Sif suddenly and ran back along the bridge. „By Odin!" she shouted. „I am with you, my prince!"

„For Asgard!" cried Hogun and leaped after her.

At that moment Thor lifted his hammer, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him. The ice shards spraying drove his friends back. A blinding lightning bolt struck down. The bridge cracked. Right at the Iceworm's feet it broke, and the stump upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the wyrm leapt forward, and Mjölnir, which Thor had flung at it to strike, stopped mid-air before the gaping maw and flew back to its owner, quivering. But even as the Iceworm leapt it swung its tail, and the spikes lashed and crushed the godling's knees, driving him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss.

„Fly, you fool!" cried Volstagg, but the wyrm, now landed on their side, sent freezing ice-breath after Thor, and the thundergod was gone.

„Noooo! Thooor!" Loki slumped down hard on his knees on the shore of the abyss, sobbing in despair. „Brother! I never meant for this to happen …" And then he raised his tear-streaked face to see the monster looming over him. Had that Jotun tagged him as bait, or what? The Warriors Four's footsteps were already retreating. Smart they were, when no friendship bound them.

In a last desperate attempt to set right what he had set in motion, the sorcerer-prince flung himself into the abyss. Diving headfirst, arms in front, he streamlined himself with a thin film of ice. (Where did that come from? Never before … No matter.) He quickly gained on Thor, who was trapped in a cube of ice, which slowed his fall. When the younger prince touched his brother, he prepared to teleport, despite the strange realm; it was a better chance than none. But the Icewyrm was upon them, impossibly; it had clawed its way down the crevice's wall faster than falling by gravity. It gently blew on them, encapturing the both of them in ice, then dragged them both back to the surface in no time.

When Loki came to, it was by the Bifröst site. An army of Jötnar were surrounding them silently. Sif and Hogun stood by Volstagg, who still carried Fandral, and – oh, the Allfather was there, finally; on his eight-legged warhorse, thawed Thor already draped before him across the saddle. A long blue tongue laved Loki; it felt warm. His hands were blue. Something huge was cradling him in its paws; he dared not look. His gaze was fixed on the Allfather. The old man was not pleased.

„Loki Laufeyson." What? „For your crimes against Asgard, for leading enemies into the weapons vault, and endangering my heir's life, I cast you out. In the name of my father, and his forefathers before me, I withdraw your powers." He made an ominous movement with Gungnir. Nothing happened.

„You never granted me any." The memory hurt. At least he wouldn't have to consider his blue skin for the time being.

„Of course I did." the Allfather huffed.

„No, you didn't. Remember when Thor reached majority, and you gave him Mjölnir? I asked you what I would get, and you told me I was too young. Then the next year when it was my turn, he had just excelled in bilgesnipe hunting, so you gave him command of thunder. Then after I'd learned weapon smithing from the dwarves and crafted my own sword and daggers, you awarded him fertility so he wouldn't feel behind. You gave me nothing. Allfather."

„Erm, sire, Fandral here is bleeding still, sir?" Volstagg interjected.

Odin harrumphed once more, then the Bifröst beamed them up. They left Loki behind. The monster crooned.

A short while later, on Asgard, crown prince Thor had his shouting match with the old man, about honour, insults, and leaving a little brother in the ice realm. Odin went 'harrgrrr', flinging him down to Midgard without powers, and promptly collapsed.

On Jotunheim meanwhile, the king and crown prince were having a quiet talk, the Icewyrm hovering nearby protectively. „I understand from all you said that you were fiercely loyal to your king-adoptive-father in Asgard." Laufey stated.

Loki gulped and nodded slowly.

„I can not demand the same, since I did not raise you. But this realm will be yours, once I will be too old to rule. You will want to take good care of it."

Loki stared at his biological father, astonished.

The ice monster purred.


End file.
